Half of a Whole - Underfell x His Dark MaterialsThe Golden Compass
by Nera Core
Summary: "In a world where everyone's soul is out on display, walking beside them in the form of an animal, it is hard for a monster to hide their true nature. Papyrus knows this all too well, but perhaps having a large, dangerous predator as your counterpart might not be a bad thing when monsters are mysteriously disappearing left and right."
1. Chapter 1

Papyrus silently stalked down the winding, narrow alleyways of the dull town. Although there was no shortage of people to be found, its constant dreariness and the rather depressing, unwelcoming mindset of the locals made the entire place seem utterly vacant. The grey skies and gentle pitter patter of bitter cold rain did not help to lift the slender skeleton's mood in the slightest.

His usual route home provided little to no shelter from the steady downpour, and so the monster was forced to take a longer path through the inner alleys of the small city. To most the wild array of side passages may have seemed like a maze, but Papyrus had managed to map out each twist and turn in his mind within a few short weeks of arriving on the surface. It was always useful to have a thorough knowledge of the surrounding terrain; be it a snowy forest deep underground or a quiet city street.

The street was narrow, almost uncomfortably so, and the path was made of an uneven cobblestone that made it slippery and difficult to navigate at the best of times, let alone in the rain that flowed down from the rooves overhead. Various puddles dotted the ground in numerous places and had already seen to saturating Papyrus' boots. How he wished he had been wearing his old ones from Snowdin. Perhaps if the weather continued as it was he would have to fish them back out again.

The tall skeleton gave a soft sigh as he dodged yet another murky puddle. He sometimes found himself missing his old home. Sure, it was a bleak and highly dangerous place to call home, but at least life was somewhat more simple than up on the surface. He could recall the constant silence, save for the occasional scuffle between monsters, and although it might have been more than a little off-putting to most, he found it a damn well better than the constant noise and disturbances on the surface.

It was for that reason Papyrus stuck to the backstreets when he could, to avoid unnecessary confrontations with people. Well, that and it was partially out of old habits that had yet to die. The constant need to be vigilant, to have his guard up and senses heightened when in unfamiliar territory, it was all from surviving the hell that had been the Underground.

Finally, the co-head of the Royal Guard met with his destination, breaking off his train of thought. Again he sighed, his mood still almost as damp as the weather. It was for this very reason the creature that stood at his heels snapped her attention to the skeleton. "Papyrus?" she breathed, her feminine voice thick with concern, "whatever is the matter?".

"Not now," he growled back with a dismissive wave of his hand, "save it until we're inside.". His daemon simply stared, unimpressed with his current attitude, but decided it was best to not comment on it for the time being.

Although his daemon said nothing aloud, Papyrus could practically feel her stare and frowned further, the pointed teeth that lined his jaw grating against one another in irritation. "I said later, Amarisa," he grumbled with a sigh for the umpteenth time that day. He could still sense the apprehension the large animal was feeling through their bond, but pointedly ignored it.

Amarisa was known to worry over Papyrus, she always knew when something was bothering him. When Papyrus was young, and Amarisa had yet to settle, the daemon had always favoured canine forms. For a while they thought she would take the form of a Labrador, or perhaps a Golden Retriever, but the Underground was full of constant danger, and gradually Amarisa began to change into wilder and larger animals for strictly protective purposes. It was no wonder in the end the daemon chose the form of a large Grey wolf. Her pelt was a coal black, and her eyes a stunning golden colour. The canine could simply disappear into her surroundings, and coupled with her large size, brute strength, blinding speed and dazzling agility, it made her the perfect protector and counterpart of the Royal Guardsman.

Deeming the conversation over, Papyrus darted out from his sheltered pathway and across the empty road. He leapt up the sidewalk before slipping through a large gate. He easily closed the distance between himself and the front porch, taking the stairs to the front door two at a time.

The building that stood before him was what most would call luxurious. It was built from solid brick, with thick wooden framed doors and windows, and a substantial, immaculately kempt garden surrounding it. It consisted of several living quarters; five in all, and a bottom floor that served as a reception. The accommodation was reserved for only the highest ranking monsters, as the humans thought it best to keep monsters within a close proximity of each other, for the time being at least. Several monsters, including himself, had been indignant that humans would think that they knew what was best for monsters, but had decided not to argue about it at a time when tensions were so high between them.

Papyrus scraped off the bottoms of his boots on the large mat just outside the building, stamping off any excess water they had accumulated. He brushed any droplets of water off his skull and patted down his coat. The moment he thought himself dry enough, and was about the enter, the wolf at his feet shook out her pelt, spraying him with a fresh coat of water. He scowled down at the canine disapprovingly before brushing himself off once more.

The lanky skeleton pushed the door open and allowed his daemon to enter before closing it again after them. All eyes within turned towards them, but quickly averted once they realised who it was. The interior was lavishly decorated, with fine furnishings, and elegant décor. The white stone floor was polished expertly, and there was neigh a spot of dust to be found upon anything.

Papyrus made his way towards the stairs. His brisk pace and irritable disposition sent monsters fleeing from his path, all too fearful of the Royal Guard's wrath. He swiftly began ascending the steps that were covered with a red carpet that was soft underfoot. There had been an elevator to the side, but Papyrus always preferred to take the stairs if at all possible.

Eventually, he reached his floor and marched over to the door. He produced a key from his coat's front pocket and set about unlocking the door. Once a satisfying click was heard he pushed the door open, closing it again after his daemon. There was a shuffling sound from one of the rooms at the rear of the house, and eventually a timid figure made their presence known.

"B-Boss?" asked the stuttering voice. Papyrus recognised the voice's owner even before he had spoken, and knew it to be his older brother, Sans.

"What?" he wearily growled back, trying unsuccessfully to keep the aggressive edge from his voice. The angered tone in turn caused both Sans and the creature lurking behind the shorter skeleton to simultaneously flinch. Papyrus was forced to take a deep breath to quell anything that remained of his temper, and turned to focus the white pinpricks of his eyes on the stout little skeleton.

The curious thing about his eye sockets, was that they displayed his emotions. When calm or relaxed, his eyes were mere pinpricks of white light, when angered or irritated his pupils disappeared and became entirely black, and when he lost his temper, they sparked a blood red, egged on by his volatile magic. It was because of this the first thing Sans always sought out were Papyrus' eyes to get a grasp on his current mood.

Fortunately, Papyrus' eyes were a calm white despite his slight irritation, and this seemed to calm the older monster. Eventually Sans had evidently mustered up enough courage to continue, "H-How was your day?" he gingerly asked, anxiously wringing his hands together in front of him and shrinking further into his black jacket, hiding amongst the fur lining.

"The usual; stressful and exhausting," he grumbled, placing away his coat, and unbuckling the boots from his feet, "These humans grate on my nerves with all their unnecessary requirements – there are near constant arguments back and forth – not to mention all the monsters who've gone missing since we arrived here…" Papyrus tossed his boots into the cupboard before heading off further into the apartment with Sans in tow.

Amarisa took a moment to properly greet Sans' daemon, Caellian, by gently rubbing her face against the feline. Caellian, who had taken the form of a rather lithe Cheetah, was happy to return the greeting. When the two moved to follow their respective counterparts Caellian leapt into the air, his form shifting in the blink of an eye into that of a raven.

The bird gave a fluttering of its wings, adjusting to the new form before gliding after his monster.

"Your daemon still changes?" Papyrus asked, making no effort to hide the weary tone from his voice. Throughout childhood a monster or human's daemon would have the ability to change their form until eventually reaching an age where their personality had fully developed and they would 'settle' on a final form for the rest of their life. Caellian, however, had never settled. Sans had always said he felt Caellian would have a fairly large form, the only problem with that was the fact that larger daemons drew more attention, which was exactly what he didn't want to do.

A daemon was always the opposite gender to its counterpart, but for some reason both Sans and Caellian shared a gender, which already made them stick out, adding a large, dangerous, unsettled daemon to the equation would only draw more unneeded attention. Every day the two would try out different forms trying to find their final form to no success. They'd tried every known feline, every conceivable canine, every possible reptile and amphibian, they'd even tried out aquatic species during a trip to Waterfall, but still, no luck.

Eventually, they had agreed that Caellian would maintain the form of a cheetah, pretending it was his daemon's settled form to avoid any suspicion from other monsters. They of course continued to experiment with different forms, again with no result.

"Yeah," Sans sighed, sounding just as tired as Papyrus was, "I've been tryin' bigger forms, but I still can't find the right one." Caellian flew over to Sans, perching himself on his shoulder before nesting himself down in the lining of his hood, giving a soft chirp, happy to have a nice soft place to rest close to his counterpart.

Papyrus made his way over to their old green couch, near enough collapsing into the cushions. He immediately regretted the decision after a spring dug harshly into his spine. They really had to get a new couch. Regardless, all the tension he previously had, had all but fled his tired body now that he was in a slightly more comfortable position.

He watched as Amarisa moved over to him, seating herself calmly at his feet and resting her head on his leg. The canine closed her eyes, exhaling softly, content with finally being back home. He reached out a hand, tenderly ruffling the wolf's fur.

They only had a short while to rest before they were expected at the King's residence to further discuss plans. Sans and Caellian would most likely be joining them, they hadn't seen the human Frisk and their daemon Chara for a good while. While they had been at first frosty and spiteful towards the young human, both Papyrus and Amarisa had soon taken to them, eager to help their cause in any way they could.

Eventually, Sans had made his way over and sat himself down beside Papyrus. He reached up to stroke the feathers of his daemon for comfort before speaking up again. "We still no closer to finding out what happened to them monsters?" he asked.

Papyrus' frown deepened, "no," he said simply massaging his temples to ward off the headache that was threatening to form. He had been asking the same question for weeks, demanding why the humans were less than concerned about a 'few' missing monsters. "Speaking of the missing monsters, I don't want you going out alone until we've sorted this out" he continued, finally turning to look his older brother in the eye.

Sans was evidently more than a little insulted by what Papyrus was implying by the angry expression he currently wore, "I can look after myself, Boss," he growled narrowing his red eyes on the younger monster. It was a well-known fact that it is was monsters of a low LV or HP count that went missing, or as the majority of the monster community assumed, were taken. It was for this reason Papyrus didn't want his one HP brother wandering the dark streets on his lonesome.

"Sans, just promise me that- it won't be for long, and it would be one less thing for me to constantly worry about," he tried to reason, frowning further. Some foolish, naïve part of him had through that the transition from Underground to surface would be easy and finally he wouldn't have to be so stressed. That was of course far from what actually happened.

Sans said no more, conceding defeat in the matter, at least for the time being. No doubt he would bring it up again later on when Papyrus was in a less irritable mood. But for now, they rested in silence, waiting to be called upon by the King.


	2. Chapter 2

Papyrus had only a short time to rest before he received a phone call from his friend, and fellow captain of the Royal Guard; Undyne. He was reluctant to leave the house again, dreading having to talk more about all the issues preventing the integration of monsters into human society, after all, it was all he had been doing for the past few months and had long since lost its novelty.

The tall skeleton eventually clambered off the couch, nudging awake his sleeping brother with his foot before heading back over to the door. Sans had evidently picked up on the cue, groaning and sliding off the couch seeming to be even more tired than Papyrus, despite spending the whole day at home and no doubt doing nothing particularly strenuous.

Papyrus pulled out his boots and slipped them on before snatching his coat off the hanger and putting it on, though leaving it undone as they would only be heading up the stairs and not out into the rain. Amarisa gave a soft shake of her pelt, stretching out before seating herself in wait for Sans and Caellian.

Once the shorter skeleton and daemon – now back in the form of a cheetah – had joined them, Papyrus unlocked the door, waiting for their small party to exit before closing and locking the door to their apartment once more.

Despite Sans' grumble of a protest they took the stairs up a further two floors to the very top floor. Papyrus unthinkingly brushed off his coat before knocking forcefully on the thick wooden door. There was a short moment of silence before the door into the rather large apartment was opened.

The two skeletons were greeted by the ex-queen of the Underground, Toriel, and her large snow leopard of a daemon, Conchobar. The large goat-like monster stared down the Guardsman in a way that would have unnerved almost any other sane creature, but he managed to stand his ground.

He watched as she turned her gaze towards his brother, her irritated expression quickly changing as a grin spread over her face – still not exactly a warm, welcoming smile, but showed she was glad to see at least one of the skeleton monsters.

"Your highness," Papyrus breathed, nodding his head in respect to the older monster.

She regarded him calmly and with a slight hint of disinterest, but nodded back to at least signal her acknowledgment. "Papyrus." She added after a brief pause. It was well known that the old queen was none too fond of the members of the Royal Guard after the execution of several of 'her' children, but she seemed to tolerate Papyrus, if only to remain in favor with Sans.

"Heya Tori," Sans smirked breaking the rather tense silence that followed, "How's it goin'?" He was stool slightly slouched with his hands in their usual position buried deep within his jacket.

The boss monster seemed relieved to have her attention diverted to more welcome company, "Hello Sans," she greeted almost happily, "I've been doing very well," she assured him, the feline at her feet nodding in agreement.

Seeing as all pleasantries had been completed she moved aside, "Do come inside and make yourselves at home, everyone else is waiting."

The moment Papyrus was inside someone practically tackled his legs, causing him to stagger backwards slightly. "Hello, Frisk," Papyrus couldn't help the way his jaw tugged slightly upwards into a small smile at the small human child that was currently hugging his legs, giggling excitedly.

Papyrus pet their head softly as they released their grip on him. "Are you enjoying school?" he asked walking further into the house with Frisk quickly following. Amarisa affectionately bumped heads with Chara, Frisk's daemon, who was currently in the form of a small tabby cat, before they too followed after their counterparts.

"Mhm," Frisk hummed, easily managing to keep up with the tall skeleton's leisurely stride, "Mum's a real great teacher." They smiled happily, looking back up at Papyrus again, "Are you having fun at work?" they asked.

Papyrus' soft smile vanished at the very word, "I wouldn't exactly call it 'fun' per se," Frisk seemed troubled by his words, so he continued, "It's certainly… interesting…"

Much to Papyrus' bafflement, despite the horrors they'd seen in the Underground Frisk seemed to be hardly phased by anything, "I'm sure it will get better, you'll see," they sent him a reassuring smile, displaying a great optimism and a maturity far beyond their years.

Before Papyrus could quite reach earshot of his fellow guardsmen and women who were all crowded around a large table in the far corner of the apartment closest to the door leading out to the balcony, Frisk grabbed his hand to draw his attention. He paused and took a moment to look down at the small human, wondering what the matter was.

"Thanks for helping out at that meeting the other day," They said softly, making sure their voice was quiet enough for only their desired audience to hear.

Papyrus nodded, well aware of the meeting they were talking about, "You're quite welcome, Frisk," he assured them. Frisk had of course been talking about the meeting between government officials from 'child services' as it was called, and the monster representatives. There had been outrage over a human child being under the care of monsters, ever if it was shared between the King and former Queen. The government representatives, however, were far less inclined to remove Frisk from monster care after having a fair portion of the Royal Guard breathing down their necks, practically daring them to even _try_ and take them away.

Not surprisingly the council had decided, after some 'negotiation', that Frisk was quite safe from harm where they were. Frisk had everything they needed, food, shelter, education, and were surrounded by monsters who cared for them far more than any human ever had.

The main government official was named Rowan. The man seemed to have a constant grip on everything, he always knew how to keep the fiery tempers of both humans and monsters firmly dampened. He had been the one to have the greatest hand in ensuring that the transition of monsters from the Underground to the surface was smooth, establishing safe areas for both species to interact, reviewing laws to make them more suited for a shared population, and simply seemed to want the two races to get along.

However, as kind and thoughtful as the man seemed, Papyrus was not completely naïve and felt there was more to him than met the eye. Sans, despite only meeting Rowan a small handful of times, seemed to distrust his motives even more than Papyrus did.

It had been only that morning that there had been discussion over the missing monsters, and while the other humans had seemed either ignorant or apathetic towards the disappearances, Rowan had been the only one to assure them that they were doing everything in their power to track down the numerous missing monsters. Although, Papyrus had a sneaking suspicion that their 'best' efforts weren't quite that great due to the lack of information being exchanged. That was why the group had met up again that evening, to discuss how they were going to move forward.

Papyrus ruffled Frisk's hair before the child happily trotted off, Chara in tow, towards Sans and Toriel, obviously eager to join in with their conversation.

"Papyrus!" came the loud eager shout of the large fish monster, Undyne, "Took 'ya long enough," she grinned, crossing her arms over her chest as she turned to face him. On her shoulder was perched her daemon, a small dragon by the name of Ferdiad. The dragon was a bright blue, much like Undyne's scales, but his claws and small horns were adorned with a deep black.

Amarisa eagerly trotted towards her friend, greeting the small dragon when he fluttered from Undyne's shoulder and onto the floor. Once Papyrus had reached the table the two daemons broke apart, returning to their respective counterparts. He was greeted by the various members of the dog squad, and gave a small respectful bow to his King.

"Alright, since you weren't here when we began, I'll give you a recap to get up to speed," Undyne began, quickly getting down to business, "As we know, there are currently eleven missing monsters, all of which with different daemons and varying quantities of LV."

Papyrus frowned, "eleven, but I thought there were only-"

"Another monster went missing earlier today," one of the canines, Doggo, interrupted, "It was a male rabbit monster and his ferret daemon." There were several unsettled looks exchanged amongst the group before he continued, "They vanished sometime around midday – apparently, they left for an appointment at eleven thirty, but never showed up."

"Isn't it a little early to be considering this monster missing?" Papyrus asked, usually a monster had to have been missing for at least forty-eight hours before a report was filed.

Undyne was the one to answer, "Normally yes, but with all these recent disappearances we decided it was best to try ant track them down as soon as possible in case it gave any clues as to what happened to the other monsters."

"Well, did you find any leads?" Papyrus asked. The way the group of canines quietened gave him his answer. They had two of the best trackers in the Underground and yet still they had come up with nothing.

"But- the monster was taken in the middle of the day, surely someone saw something," Amarisa began, speaking directly to the small hedgehog, Asya, who was sat on the table beside Doggo. Odd as it might have seemed for the guard dog to have such a small daemon, hedgehogs were known to symbolize loyalty, resourcefulness, protectiveness, and for being steadfast, traits which all seemed to suit the old dog.

Difficult as it was to see, Asya shook her small head, "No, there weren't any witnesses."

Papyrus ran a hand down his skull, giving a tired sigh, "And I assume the humans had nothing to help?" Once more the group was quiet, several of the members and their daemons shaking their heads.

The King had remained silent throughout the entire exchange, he seemed to have been deeply lost in through. His majestic griffin daemon Emer stood just as quietly by his side. Emer's feathers were a bright golden that seemed to fade out to a deep crimson at their very tip and when the sunlight caught them just right it made her look as though she were sprinkled with blood – a truly intimidating sight.

"Does anyone have a suggestion on how we plan to keep this threat contained?" Asgore asked, his voice rough and lacking its usual fierce strength, no doubt due to the weeks of constant talking.

Undyne frowned, "Well, we know it's mostly the low level or health monsters that are being targeted. It's obvious whomever is responsible only wants the weaker monsters that no one would miss." She concluded. "This person is also being very tidy with their actions, they don't want anyone knowing what's happening," Ferdiad added from his counterpart's shoulder, releasing a small plume of smoke from his nostrils after speaking. "As for how to stop them…" Undyne trailed off, glancing around the group for anyone's input.

"The best we can do is simply tell monsters to keep off the streets after dark, and to stick to large crowds during the day. Inconvenient as it may be, there's nothing much we can do until we have some solid evidence, or at least a lead," Papyrus added, "I know it's not what you would like to hear, your highness, after all we've been through to get here to the surface, but the guard is spread thin as it is, we simply cannot protect everyone."

The other daemons and monsters watched the king ponder this information before giving a deep frustrated sigh, "No, you are correct. Spread the word to the other members of the guard and to the citizens," he confirmed. Asgore's posture was slightly slouched as though all the world's problems were each weighing down on him, he straightened momentarily before continuing, "If there is nothing more to discuss tonight then you are all dismissed."

There was a short amount of chatter exchanged and once it was confirmed there were no other pressing matters the small group disbanded. Undyne and the members of the dog squad all headed out after bidding good evening to their King, leaving only Asgore, Toriel, Papyrus, Sans, Frisk and their daemons.

Papyrus and Amarisa moved over to where Sans and Toriel were casually chatting to Frisk while their daemons engaged in their own conversations. At Papyrus' arrival Sans and Caellian quickly wrapped up their conversations and the two skeleton brothers bid both Toriel and Frisk farewell before they too left for their own accommodation.


	3. Chapter 3

The following morning Papyrus was awake bright and early. He was out of bed and dressing as the first rays of sunlight broke the horizon, and the birds housed in the nearby trees began their song.

There was something simply captivating about the sun rise. The way the dark skies were seemingly all of a sudden awash with all kinds of colour - the light chasing away the black abyss of the evening sky and replacing it with vivid blues, yellows, and purples. More than once Papyrus had caught himself watching the sun make its daily climb into the sky, loosing himself in the beauty he was still so unaccustomed to.

It took a gentle nudge of his hand to draw the monster from his musings, and he turned to look down upon his daemon. Amarisa gave a gentle smile, as she always did when they were alone, her tail giving a few swishes.

Papyrus ruffled the fur of her head, earning a livelier wagging of her tail. Taking note of the time, the two swiftly left their room, heading towards the kitchen.

It was a common occurrence for the skeleton and daemon to be the only people up at the early hour. They both knew perfectly well that their lazy siblings would be sleeping for many hours yet. Luckily for them, Papyrus and Amarisa were kind enough to allow it.

Once they had reached their destination, Papyrus quickly set about making some breakfast for himself. Fortunately, due to the fact Papyrus woke so early, he had plenty of time to make his usual Friday meal; pancakes. After moving to the surface, Papyrus' cooking skills had improved tenfold – there was no longer a need to have the fire extinguisher on standby throughout. Some of the pancakes were closer to black then brown, but at least there was no way they would be undercooked.

Pleased with his efforts, he slid some of the misshapen food onto another plate and placed it into the fridge, or as it was more commonly known, the 'Food Museum' so that Sans wouldn't miss out on his masterpiece.

Papyrus quickly scoffed the food he had kept for himself, pausing only to give Amarisa a small slither of pancake to taste. After a hefty glass of water to wash it all down, the monster and daemon quickly began their way towards the front door. They had no time to loiter about the apartment if they had hope of being punctual.

Slipping on his coat and draping his scarf over himself, Papyrus paused. He shifted to the nearby window and took in the looming grey clouds above before moving back to the cupboard in which their shoes were stored. The skeleton eagerly reached in, pulling out his red boots – an old favourite from back in the Underground – and slipped them on. Amarisa gave a soft huff of approval upon seeing them.

Papyrus snatched his keys from the table situated next to the door before heading out of the apartment and into the hallway outside. He made sure to lock the door once more, then continued his way down the stairs.

The bottom floor of the building was always eerily deserted in the early morning and the late evening with only one or two monsters present at all times to ensure security. On that particular morning, there was one monster manning the front desk, and another busily sweeping the seemingly already pristine white floors. The guardsman and daemon managed to swiftly cross the reception area and exit via the front door. There was of course a backdoor that led out into the alleys behind the building, but it was scarce used.

Papyrus was greeted by the crisp air outside, weighed down only by the slight humidity that hung heavily in the air. He was quite content with the cool, it was the dampness that he found uncomfortable.

Once out into the street he could see several puddles of water remaining from the downpour of the previous day, filling the lower sections of road. There was also a thick fog that encased the city that had not been obvious from Papyrus' window. Truly an unpleasant start to the day – but Papyrus had worked with worse.

The skeleton did not consider himself a cowardly monster; yet with the inability to see further than a few metres in all directions, it certainly left him with a slight sensation of nervousness. Amarisa seemed to pick up on his mildly anxious state and shifted closer to her counterpart for comfort.

The street lights that hung overhead did little to fend off the fog and were only just visible through it. Even the headlights of the few cars that were driving about were hard pressed to light the way.

Papyrus turned a corner down a new road, and if on cue heard several sets of feet running in his direction. Fortunately, he knew who exactly these people were.

"Boo!" shouted one of the voices from behind him, accompanied by several choruses of laughter.

The monster gave his own barely audible chuckle at the odd antics, "You'll have to try harder than that to scare me, children." There were several disappointed groans from the aforementioned youths that followed. Finally, Papyrus turned to look down at the humans that had attempted to startle him – two small human girls named Jenny and Elaine, and their unsettled daemons called Raxus and Kailu respectively.

The two children were sisters – identical twins to be exact – and both seemed determined to win the monster's friendship by any means necessary. In fact, the two apparently wanted to befriend all monsters. However, excluding Papyrus and Amarisa, most others had been less than patient with their happy-go-lucky childish attitude.

The first time Papyrus had met the two was when they had spotted him sat in the garden outside the monster residence. Despite their parents warning them against going near the monsters the curious children had decided to do so, scaling the stone walls that bordered the building so they could observe the guardsman and his daemon.

Papyrus had of course noticed them straight away, but had opted to ignore them. It was only when they began trying to converse with him that the monster was forced to interact with them. They were sweet, and he'd decided to humour their intentions of friendship by telling them that if they managed to successfully sneak up on him he would agree to being their friend.

Several months on and they were still trying to earn his companionship, and Papyrus truly admired their perseverance.

"How do you always know it's us?" Asked Jenny as she did almost every day after they failed yet another attempt. The two humans moved to walk on either side of Papyrus, Elaine on the left with her daemon as a small sparrow and Jenny on the right with hers a tabby cat that padded alongside Amarisa.

"You both always attack me at the exact same place every morning, and I could hear you coming a mile away," he stated simply, "You need to do something new, try and catch me off guard."

"Don't worry mister Papyrus, we'll get you one day!" Elaine grinned excitedly, her daemon twittering happily in concurrence.

"Besides, we told everyone at school that we'd do it," Jenny added, "They're all too scared of monsters to try and make friends, but we said that we could do it, and if we can do it then everyone can be friends and they won't have to fear you." She continued, skipping along happily as she spoke.

It always amazed Papyrus that they could have such and innocent, naïve mindset – children of the Underground had never had such kind notions of the world. Yet, in a way they reminded him of Frisk, determined to be a pacifist, to show all monsters that killing was not always the answer, and that kindness was not always a weakness.

Perhaps they in fact needed more people with that mindset – kindness to balance out all the cruelties of the world. Unfortunately, that was not the kind of thinking monsters had been fostering. All monster children were aware of the fact that the world was 'kill or be killed' with no exceptions for anyone.

The small party lapsed into silence as they continued down the street. It had become almost routine – the children would try to sneak up on Papyrus, fail, and then casually chat with him while he walked down the street.

The sun had climbed further into the sky in the few minutes Papyrus had been outside and had begun to chase the fog away, banishing it from the city with its warmth and light. Dark grey clouds still tainted the horizon, looming threateningly in the distance with their silent promise of another drenching.

"What're you doing today?" Elaine asked, breaking their quiet and looking up at him with all interest.

"I bet it's more boring adult stuff," Jenny added, earning an amused giggle from her twin sister and their daemons.

Papyrus rolled his eyes and gave an exasperated sigh at their juvenile behaviour, "Of course I am doing 'boring adult stuff', as you so kindly put it," His words earning another fit of giggles, "Why, what thrilling adventures will you be participating in today?"

The question gathered a completely different response, the two girls groaning in annoyance, "school" they replied together. "It's so boring!" Jenny added, grumbling and kicking a small stone from the walkway for extra emphasis.

"You two seem to think everything short of running around the streets causing havoc is completely tiresome and pointless," he began frowning slightly, "You can't spend all day enjoying yourself, then nothing would ever get done."

By then they had reached the end of the street and it was time for the three to part ways. "Alright then, you four had best run along, it is dangerous to be out so early by yourselves." Not all monsters were as accommodating of children as Papyrus was, and so it was not safe for them to be wandering the streets on their lonesome.

Jenny and Elaine shared a look before both replying with a quick, "See ya mister Papyrus," in their usual sing-song voice. With nothing more they turned and began sprinting down the path whence they came to the sound of elated giggles.

Papyrus gave a sigh; partly glad he was by himself again. While having company was enjoyable at times, he often preferred to be alone, and there were only so many childish questions he could tolerate in one day. Besides, he would be spending most of the next few waking hours answering the time wasting questions of human 'officials' – he couldn't afford to have his patience already in tatters.

Perhaps it would be more worth his time going to school in the girls' place, at least then he might actually learn something of importance. With a chuckle at his own thoughts Papyrus continued on his way through the city.


End file.
